Antique Furniture Advice & How To

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When the experts were asked for advice for the care and display of hooked rugs, they came up with a list of tips anyone can follow to clean antique hook rugs. Without exception, avoid the vacuum cleaner; use a manual carpet sweeper or a broom. One expert advises: ““If you want a rug for under the dog, go to Sears.” Read More +

Though in a condition that many would pass by without a second thought, the craftsmanship and potential of a camel-back trunk was apparent to its new owner. Read how restoring the antique steamer trunk made one collector believe in the power of preservation. Read More +

A piece of furniture described as having a “broken pediment” may cause confusion or concern on the part of those unfamiliar with antiques-related terminology. Furniture Detective Fred Taylor clears up this and more antiques-related terms. Read More +

In the everyday conduct of our affairs in the older and antique furniture trade, we often come across terms and references that we accept as just part of the lingo. But almost just as often we have little or no idea what the reference or term really means or how it got to be called that. Read More +

Duncan Phyfe was one of the rare early century cabinetmakers who actually used paper labels and tags to identify some of his work, but most makers of the early period either scrawled their name or mark under a drawer somewhere or didn’t bother to mark their products at all. Finding a label on a piece of furniture now means that the collector has to know what kind of label it is to decipher its meaning. Read More +

Is tung oil safe for antique furniture? Furniture Detective Fred Taylor says unless the original finish was an oil finish, then tung oil, like any other oil, has no place on antique furniture over the long term. Read More +